Typical photofinishing of photosensitive media, such as film, comprises the development of the photosensitive media using wet processing system followed by printing of the image onto a second photosensitive media, which is also processed using a conventional wet process system. Conventional wet process comprises the passing of the film through a plurality of processing tanks, each tank containing a processed solution. Such conventional wet processing is relatively time-consuming, restricted to specific types of films, must be carefully monitored and maintained in order to ensure consistent high quality, special care must be taken in the using and disposal of the processing solutions.
There has also been suggested in the prior art the providing of a fully automated photofinishing device wherein a customer can walk up to the device, insert a film cartridge, and have the enclosed film processed. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,351, wherein a conventional wet processing system is utilized. As previously mentioned, this type of wet processing system requires careful maintenance of the chemistry in order to insure consistent high quality. Additionally, the wet processing is limited to typically one type chemistry used for processing of a particular type film. In addition, typical wet processing systems are not suitable for doing partial roll development.
There has also been suggested in the prior art a Bi-Mat development system whereby 35 mm instant color slide film is developed. An example of such a system is the PolaChrome CS 35 mm instant color slide film, which incorporates a black and white emulsion layer provided on a substrate and an additive color screen which is used to produce color images. Once the film has been exposed, it is placed in a device whereby a donor strip is coated with a processing solution, which is then caused to come in contact with the exposed film through use of a pair of laminating rollers. Since the emulsion is a black and white emulsion, only a single processing solution is applied. A problem with this system is that it sacrifices film speed, D-min density, an image quality in order to obtain visually acceptable slide image.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,016 discloses a system similar to the Bi-Mat system, which is relatively simple and low cost. While the system disclosed therein provides an improvement over the PolaChrome CS 35 mm system, it is not suitable for use with film having substantially different chemistry and is not designed for doing partial roll developing and printing.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for photofinishing a variety of different type photosensitive materials using a single, simple low-cost device. Additionally, the system allows for partial roll development and allows the providing of a large variety of different custom image products to be produced.